Eric Holder: Americans Should Not Be 'Color Blind,' but 'Color Brave'

Attorney General Eric Holder encouraged Americans not to forget race while working for justice and equality in their country.

Holder made his remarks during a speech at Howard University on Tuesday for the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Civil Rights Act.

Holder called on Congress to update the housing and lending laws to cover sexual orientation and gender as well as strengthening workplace protections.

More protections, he explained, would help America become a “more perfect Union.” Holder added:

That, at its core, is what defines us as Americans: a people born of revolution and tested by civil war. A nation founded on equality but built by those in chains. A country first imagined, centuries ago, by imperfect people driven by a near-perfect vision – a vision conceived by patriots who dared to reach beyond themselves and defended later by activists who fought for equal justice – and who challenge us, even today, to make this promise real.